The Drums Begin
by bandnerd21
Summary: Koschei's head pounded... He couldn't tell Theta, that much was obvious. He could only hope that his skills at deception could keep anyone from knowing. NOT slash, unless you're wearing those kind of glasses, but THEY'RE 8, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! R&R :
1. Chapter 1

He woke with a start, body drenched in sweat, hearts beating a rapid form of his usually calm pattern._ Du-du-du-dum,_ over and over again, a frantic pulse that seemed like it would never slow. The young child rubbed his iridescent crystal eyes and stretched. _What was that, _Koschei wondered. All he could remember was hatred. The cold, cruel hatred of those around him, and it had something to do with his initiation in front of the Eye. But nobody was allowed in the initiation, so that hatred was impossible. _It's just a bad dream, _Koschei reassured himself shakily. There was no way the disgust he saw in his classmates'—in Theta's—eyes could possibly be real. He resolved to tell Theta when they next saw each other.

Koschei rose and stretched, preparing himself traditionally for the ceremony. His hair freshly combed and the robes of the Timelord on his back, he walked out of the room, giving off an air of confidence that was as much a lie as it seemed true. Koschei had always been good at misleading people as to his feelings, his personality, even why he was out on the purple grass past curfew! Although, he never really needed to bother with the last one. All of the adults knew and accepted that whenever he went missing, he was with Theta. _Speak of the devil… _He ran up to his friend and explained breathlessly what had happened. Theta listened, his face creasing more and more with each passing phrase; the dream Koschei had had was troubling to say the least. Theta pulled him in for a hug, helping Koschei release the rest of the stress he had been holding inside of him.

"You know it'll be ok. Hardly anybody has a hard time at the Eye."

"Yeah, but the thought that I'll be one of the exceptions… It scares me, Theta."

"It scares me, too. But we have to go through it anyways.

"Now, let's get something to eat!"

Koschei nodded happily, getting some food and sitting down next to Theta at their customary table. Theta's laughter and bubbling talk filled his hearts with joy, but, in the back of his mind, he was still terrified of his dream and what would happen when he approached the Eye. Theta saw this—_Of course, Theta sees everything, _Koschei mused bitterly—and wrapped an arm around the thin shoulders of the boy next to him, as carefree as an 8-year-old child should be on the most important day of his life. Koschei sighed and relaxed into the other boy's grip, allowing the calm waves that always seemed to be radiating off Theta to wash over him, numbing his senses.

Theta gazed at the boy burrowed so deep within the crook of his skinny elbow he almost became a part of him in sadness. He couldn't help Koschei; nobody could. He could only hope that Koschei's dream had only been a dream, not a scarily accurate premonition. They sat in silence, nibbling on toast, neither one's appetite worth much, until it was time to go to class for some, the Eye for one. That one was Koschei, and Theta gently nudged his friend, afraid that he was waking him up from sleep that would actually do him good. Koschei looked at him, eyes wide with panic.

"I don't want to go, Theta. I can't do this!"

"Yes, you can! Koschei, I believe in you."

"Please, Theta," he begged, "help me hide, run away. We could run together, see the stars." He smiled hopefully, but Theta shook his head.

"You know as well as I that we need to go through with this, no matter how we feel about it. It's what makes us who we are!"

"Why do you always have to be the sensible one?" Koschei's voice wavered, eyes filling with tears.

"Because if I wasn't, you would be a mess, and probably would have lost your head in history class by now. Literally. Your head would have gotten up and walked away.

"Ready to go?"

Koschei whimpered, but nodded; he didn't have much of a choice, anyways. Theta watched his friend walk away with a deepening sense of dread. He hoped his instincts were wrong, but they rarely were. He couldn't shake the feeling that he should have agreed to help Koschei run away.

Koschei approached the swirling mass with halting step, urged on by his schoolmasters. Eight years old, and his body was trembling at the thought of the huge mass opening before him, engulfing him. He stumbled, but was caught by one of the masters, grimacing.

"You cannot look away, Koschei," one of them ordered, and the boy nodded, not trusting his voice.

_What if my nightmare comes true? _His breathing quickened with the thought that he would lose everything this day. He didn't know what he would do if that happened; it would likely destroy him.

He stood, staring, as the void opened and the drums called him. Through the ages, come for _him _through the Eye. Koschei fell to the ground, pain engulfing him. He could hardly think, he could barely breathe. His constant thought was _this wasn't supposed to happen. I should have been like Theta. What's wrong with me? _He felt the masters gripping his shoulders and he lashed out at them, scratching, biting, and using energy from the Vortex almost like a shield. Koschei stood, his head pounding with each movement he made. Slowly, the drums softened into a four-beat rhythm, and Koschei didn't know what to do. His head felt like it had split in half, yet he was still whole. He twitched, head throbbing in the four beats. He touched his head in disgust. _If Theta finds out, he'll hate me. Something happened today, and I can't tell him. _He sniffled at that thought, unaware that his masters were watching him. Only when one of the cleared his throat did Koschei break out of his reverie. He looked around as if he was seeing them for the first time.

"Well," he said, "don't we have somewhere to be?" The robed men looked startled for a moment before nodding, leading Koschei out of the Shrine of the Vortex to his formal initiation ceremony.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N I know... I really shouldn't, I mean 2 at once (well, this is a one shot unless I hear otherwise from you good reviewers), but I had to! I was listening to "The Sound of Drums" by Chameleon Circuit (if you haven't heard them, you're deprived and must look them up immediately!) but... yeah :) Enjoy!

Oh, and I don't own... anything... sorry :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Well, you asked, and I have brought forth... some monster that crawled out of my brain :) Hope you enjoy and remember, you guys asked for this!  
>Disclaimer-y thing: I am in no way related to the writing, costuming, producing, directing, or creation of Doctor Who. Just so's y'all know!<p>

* * *

><p>Koschei ran from the vortex, away from the drums, but it never ceased. The consistent pounding in his head, reminding him every second that he was a freak. Theta stood at the entrance hall with a smile that slowly faltered at the manic look in Koschei's eyes.<p>

"K-Koschei? What's wrong? What happened?"

Koschei hung his head, leaning on his knee, panting heavily. "Can't tell. Secret. You'd think… I'm a freak," he ended in a whisper, letting a single tear carve its shining path down his cheek.

"Why do you think that? We tell each other _everything_. I thought we were best friends." Koschei panicked at Theta's crestfallen face, terrified that if he didn't tell, he would lose his friend forever.

The two walked to the lecture hall together, Koschei looking sad and defeated.

"Did anything… happen when you were initiated?"

Theta's face paled as they sat down. "You know we're not supposed to talk about that! We could be expelled or banished or—or—or—"

"_Theta_! You were just asking me the same thing, just not as straightforward! Besides, what's the point of not discussing it? We've both been through it, so it's not like we can change our experiences."

"Well… All right, I guess. But tell me, what _happened _to you? You look sick!" Theta put a hand on Koschei's shoulder that was quickly shaken off, a fearful look on the other boy's face.

"I can't," Koschei screamed, voice trembling, more tears threatening to break the careful barrier he built.

"Koschei, you're my best friend: we tell each other everything. You can't just let this sit! You can trust me," he ended softly, a tremor in his voice to match Koschei's.

Koschei's mucles tensed for a moment, inner voices conflicting. If he didn't tell Theta what happened, he risked losing his friendship. Theta had really been his only friend in all of his eight years; all the others had been scared away by his disregard for the rules, opting to play it safe.

But then, if he _did _tell theta what happened, what was still happening inside him that very moment, Theta might think he was a freak, bring him to the Council to be examined, reject his friendship anyways. It was a hell of a choice, and Koschei wished, for once, that he didn't have to make up his mind about it. He just wanted to sit back, let the drums consume him, and let someone… Wait, what? _Let the drums consume…? _Koschei shuddered and pushed that sudden thought to the back of his mind.

Koschei nodded. "I-I guess I can tell you. But later, when people can't overhear." _Can't see what I am now._

Theta frowned a bit, but acquiesced, nodding. He nudged Koschei a bit and smiled. Koschei forced a matching smile onto his own face as theta turned to greet the professor who had just entered the room. Koschei smile dropped and he felt exhausted by just keeping the act up for a few seconds. He shrank down in his chair as the professor began explaining something about the history of Gallifrey and succumbed to the sound of the drums for the duration of the lesson.

...

The professor turned away from the board, declared the students sufficiently learned, and released them for the day. Theta grabbed Koschei by the arm and whisked him away. Theta pulled his key out of the pocket of his robes. He turned it and pulled the door opened, practically throwing Koschei in his bed. Theta flung himself down next to him and turned, face barely a foot away from his friend's.

"So," he questioned.

"So…" Koschei was stalling. He knew he was stalling, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't bare the thought of Theta turning away from him in disgust, saying that he was wrong, something _happened _when he faced the vortex and he had to be taken to the Council.

"Koschei, quit it. What happened?"

"I-I don't really know… It's… complicated."

"I'm a good listener."

Koschei nodded and took a breath. "Well, they walked me there. I-I fell, and they had to pick me back up. Then, they void opened, and I heard… something."

"What did you hear?"

"Drums. Never-ending drums. In my ears, always the same rhythm. _Du du du dum. Du du du dum. _Always there, threatening to push me over the edge into madness. I don't know what to do, and I'm afraid that you'll decide I'm dangerous, that I should be locked up and contained and I'm so _scared." A sob broke in his throat and he fell into Theta. Theta sat there with him, shushing and reassuring that, no matter what happened, he would never tell a soul._


End file.
